


dark nights

by sorbetcafe



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29312658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorbetcafe/pseuds/sorbetcafe
Summary: There's something going down in the Clans, something no one's willing to talk about. Cats around the Clans have been dropping dead and turning up missing at each turn, and Harepaw is certain his clan is to blame. With no one to confide in besides his fellow apprentice Tansypaw, he's determined to figure out what's happening to everycat... and hopefully live to tell the tale.
Kudos: 1





	1. Allegiances

**Author's Note:**

> started making, scrapped for 4 years, came back, had a breakdown  
> bon apatite

MallowClan

Leader

Dovestar - scarred molly with short dark brown fur and blue eyes

Deputy

Sorrelheart - short eared calico molly with blue eyes

Medicine Cats

Deerpoppy - brown furred tom with amber eyes and a scarred muzzle

Apprentice: Fernpelt

Fernpelt - light gray tom with darker markings

Warriors

Acornwhisker - molly with russet and dark cream fur and amber eyes

Sandfur - cat with a dark golden pelt and patches of bright cream 

Willowheart - beautiful yellow molly with a long pluming tail

Apprentice: Harepaw

Ashstripe - light grey molly with dark grey stripes with blue eyes

Briarclaw - spotted brown tom with blue eyes

Goldencloud - long furred molly with a golden pelt and cream patches

Daisystripe - long legged molly with golden fur with dark stripes

Apprentice: Tansypaw

Mintclaw - large gray tom 

Wrentail - trans - dark brown tom with dark blue eyes

Hazelstorm - nb -brown cat with swirly fur

Dustfur - dusty brown tom with a bright cream muzzle

Apprentices

Tansypaw - golden red molly with darker patches and amber eyes

Harepaw - light brown tom with dark paws and blue eyes

Elders

Stonenose - dark gray cat

Badgerfoot - cream molly with black patches

Dappleface - beautiful black molly with patches of white and orange with amber eyes

ReedClan

Leader

Rainstar - gray blue molly with blue eyes

Deputy

Swiftclaw - black and white tom

Medicine Cats

Beechleaf - brown tom

Warriors

Carpshadow - golden molly

Apprentice: Frostpaw

Duckfeather - patchy white and gray tom

Apprintince: Goosepaw

Silverfang - black tom

Lilyheather - gray and white tabby tom

Apprentice: Starlingpaw

Sparklefish - black and white speckled molly

Apprentice: Starlingpaw

Minnowleap - gray and white molly

Apprentice: Fallenpaw

Blizzardbreeze - creamy brown molly

Apprentice: Bouncepaw

Apprentices

Frostpaw - dark gray molly with pure white paws

Fallenpaw - silvery blue tom

Goosepaw - red tabby tom

Starlingpaw - cream molly

Bouncepaw - brown and cream molly

Queens

Tumblelily - mottled brown she-cat

Kits

Splashkit - dark black tom

BreezeClan

Leader

Larchstar - light brown tabby tom

Deputy

Applepelt - ginger molly

Medicine Cats

Mirthsong - brown molly

Apprentice - Sorrelpaw

Warriors

Sweethollow - gray and white tabby tom

Apprentice: Sorrelpaw

Webflower - gray molly

Robinheart - white and ginger molly

Apprentice: Pricklepaw

Finchfang - speckled white tom

Apprentice: Leafpaw

Vinelight - dark brown tabby tom

Daffodiltuft - yellow tom 

Apprentice: Nutpaw

Cedarspring - tabby tom

Violetshade - dark tortishell molly

Apprentice: Wolfpaw

Alderfoot - red tom

Apprentices

Leafpaw - calico molly

Sorrelpaw - white tom

Pricklepaw - dark black tabby molly

Nutpaw - silver gray tom

Wolfpaw - white tom

Queens

Brindledust - black and white molly

Pikeleap - blueish-gray molly

Kits

Flintkit - gray molly

Bravekit - red tabby molly

Molekit - red and white molly

Elders

Juniperberry - mottled brown she-cat

ShadeClan

Leader

Morningstar - red molly with creamy paws

Deputy

Snaketuft - dark tabby tom

Medicine Cats

Aspenheart - gray tom

Apprentice: Littlepaw

Warriors

Sparrowshadow - red molly

Quailbreeze - dark brown tabby tom

Kretzelnose - dark orange molly

Newtblaze - brown tabby molly

Blacktree - handsome black tom

Apprentice: Bramblepaw

Mapleshine - golden molly

Apprentice: Echopaw

Juniperclaw - dark gray tom 

Apprentice: Thistlepaw

Cherrywillow - white molly

Apprentice: Yellopaw

  
  


Apprentices

Yellowpaw - yellow tabby tom

Thistlepaw - gray and white molly

Littlepaw - small dark tortoiseshell tom

Echopaw - pale gray molly

Bramblepaw - gary and white tabby molly

Queens

Sunfrost - yellow brown molly

Kits

Rabbitkit - brown tom

Elders

Stoneheart - black tom

Cloudpelt - white tom


	2. Prologue

There was nothing Snaketuft hated more than late night patrol. Things were getting tense around the Clans though, and Morningstar had started sending out more and more cats at StarClan-knows-when at night. It was normally just the one cat who’d spend their time crawling to one side of the border, marking it, and slinking back home before waking up the next warrior with night duties to do the other half. It was far from a glamorous job, but it was one to do nonetheless. Snaketuft just wished it wasn’t his turn.

“Of all the nights…” he grumbled to himself, “why the one right before the Gathering? Me and Cherrywillow are going to be so tired tomorrow! We’ll be lucky if we even get called to go…”

Lost in his own head, the gray and black tom just barely doesn’t hear the rustling of underbrush. The second time is louder though, much harder to miss. His ear flicks at the sound.

There shouldn’t have been anyone here. He was the only one on patrol right now. Morningstar must have been right, then! Some other Clan had been spying on them after everycat had already fallen asleep!

Lifting his head and lowering his tail, Snaketuft calls out, “Who’s there? Show yourself!” The area is quiet. The tabby wrinkles his nose. There’s no scent in the wind. He sighs.

“Huh. I must have bees in my brain from how tired I am…” Snaketuft shakes himself out, ready to go back to his boring walk. He only gets a couple of pawsteps away before stopping again.

All too suddenly, a very unfamiliar scent swamps him, and with it comes a weight he wasn’t ready to account for. Down he goes with a yowl, something sharp carving his back fur out. Snaketuft recovers as quickly as he can through the pain and stands on his hind legs before falling backwards on top of his assailant.

From behind he hears a growl and feels teeth snap at his scruff. He manages to flip over and jump into a proper fighting stance before being fully caught, but not with ease. His back is on fire and his legs are a little flighty with how suddenly they were crashed down upon.

In front of him stands a dark gray cat, one he doesn’t recognize. A rogue of some sort, must be. Why would a rogue randomly decide to take on a Clan cat, though?

Breathing heavily, the cat says nothing as he charges forward, reaching out with claws outstretched. Snaketuft quickly falls to the ground, dodging, before spinning around and jumping on the other, returning the favor of being scratched earlier.

The rogue lets out a roar. They shake with all their might, flinging the light Snaketuft off. He shouts as he lands awkwardly on top of a fallen log, back screaming with pain.

A clump on the ground, Snaketuft fights through tears to try and lift himself back up, keep his Clan safe, but the rogue comes over and pins him down with one powerful paw on his neck.

“What do you want?” Snaketuft chokes out, breathing stifled. The other cat leans down, close to Snaketuft’s face, and smiles.

“The Clans to suffer.”

Snaketuft doesn’t get to let out a gasp before his throat is clawed violently, slicing into his jugular. His eyes roll up in anguish as he tries and fails to breathe. His last blurry view is of his killer walking away, laughing.


	3. Chapter 1

“Daisystripe, Willowheart… and their apprentices, Tansypaw and Harepaw.” Harepaw gasps excitedly as Dovestar makes her announcement, looking over at Tansypaw who shares his same expression. They finally got to go! Their first Gathering together! Harepaw has to fight to stay seated until the meeting’s over.

The moon overhead graces the cats as they get together and one by one leave through the thick vines that hide the opening into their home. Tansypaw wastes no time making herself known as she bumps gently into Harepaw after they’re all out and on their way to the Gathering Isle.

“I’m so happy for you!” she says, mirthful but hushed. They weren’t really supposed to talk along the way, but accordingly Dovestar had never tried to stop anycat who did, so it was probably okay as long as they kept quiet enough. “You’ll love it! There’s so many cats, and the other apprentices are cool too! It’s so great greencough didn’t get you this moon.” Harepaw smirks.

“No greencough is gonna keep me from this Gathering!” He’s a mite too loud, and he hears a couple of warriors laugh. His cheeks burn and he lowers his head. Tansypaw gives him another light shove.

“Oh, don’t worry about them! They’re just as happy for you, you know. Those last two bouts were something terrible for you.”

Tansypaw is telling the truth. Harepaw shudders as he recalls how horrible it was, being left with nothing to do but recover for two whole moons. He’d been sickly since he was a kit, but that had been the worst he’d ever been to date. Fernpelt was nice and all, but there’s only so many conversation topics you can have with a medicine cat. Especially one that zoned out so often. Harepaw was almost certain that he’d paid more attention to the injured cats that had come in and out of the den than Fernpelt did.

The dark furred apprentice is pulled out of his thoughts as his paws travel from soft grass to hard wood. He startles a bit, not ready for the cool surface to hit his paw pads, but he recorvers before anyone could comment on it. He does hear a small giggle, but as he turns around to the culprit, she’s conveniently looking the other way.

As they grow closer and closer to the isle, back claws tapping on the smooth wood, Harepaw finds himself wrinkling his nose more and more. There was a very weird smell in the air, one he couldn’t even begin to place. It was so powerful, too. He’s still wondering to himself, more than curious as to what the source of the scent could be, when the sound of voices carries in the wind. It was the other Clans! They were already at the isle!

Harepaw strains his neck trying to look above the taller warriors in front of him, but with little luck. Instead, he tries focusing on how close the voices are. They were loud enough, so they couldn’t be very far away. Harepaw can feel himself shaking with excitement as he walks forward, pawsteps quickening with each second. Tansypaw has to rush a bit to keep up.

Finally, Harepaw can see the outline of a bunch of cats. His tail sticks straight up, a smile coming to his face. This was it! This was a Gathering! He was here at his very first Gathering!

MallowClan makes their way onto the isle and disperses amongst the rest of the crowd. All at once, Harepaw feels overwhelmed. He looks around, trying to find somewhere to squeeze himself in and join in properly. It’s hard seeing any other apprentices over the multitude of cats though, and his tail falls as he grows apprehensive.

“Too much?” Tansypaw asks, the hint of a giggle in her voice. Wordlessly Harepaw nods. She laughs next to him and he feels his ears press back in embarrassment. Tansypaw gently puts her red bushy tail over Harepaw’s lithe body.

“I’m not making fun of you, Hare,” she says, beginning to lead him to a group of small cats, “I know what it’s like. I was the same way, after all!”

Hearing that makes him feel better, and by the time they’ve made their way to the other apprentices, Harepaw can feel himself smiling again.

“Tansypaw, hey!” calls one of them, a dark silver tom. “Who’s the new meat?”

The others laugh ruthlessly at the comment, and Harepaw backs up a bit, intimidated. Tansypaw rolls her eyes, sitting down.

“Don’t be mean, Finpaw. Everyone, this is Harepaw! He became an apprentice two moons ago with me, but he hasn’t been able to come because of his issues with greencough. He’s all better now though, right, Harepaw?”

Harepaw can do nothing but nod at the others as he sits down next to Tansypaw. He didn’t know how much he liked having his whole life story spilled at the prick of a thorn, but he supposed that was just Tansypaw.

“Anyways, this is Finpaw, as you know. He’s the resident jerk,” Tansypaw starts, immediately getting a ‘hey!’ of indignation, “and this is Frostpaw, Leafpaw, and Yellowpaw.” Tansypaw points at each of them in turn. Finpaw is a light gray tom with a dark stripe down his back, Frostpaw a dark gray molly with pure white paws, Leafpaw a round calico molly, and Yellowpaw, an appropriately named yellow tabby tom.

“Hello, everyone,” Harepaw greets, dipping his head. “It’s good to finally be here at a Gathering!” The others grin at him, and just like that Harepaw feels like he belongs.

As Tansypaw makes up enough conversation for the both of them, Harepaw chooses to look around and see all the cats from the other Clans. Just from descriptions, Harepaw can easily make out the other two leaders, Rainstar and Larchstar, but he’s confused. Where was the leader of ShadeClan, Morningstar? Wasn’t ShadeClan closer to the isle than any other Clan?

As soon as the thought crosses his mind, a new scent enters Harepaw’s nose, though it’s very faint. Not nearly as powerful as the rest of the Clans’. He looks about, trying to spot the newcomers, only to see the pelt of the one and only Morningstar. She looked ready to fight anycat in her way as she weaved her way through the crowd.

Following behind her were only three warriors, an odd amount. Either way, they looked very powerful, muscles showing even through their pelts. Harepaw shivers.

Without a word, Morningstar makes her way to the tallest tree on the isle, scrambling and scratching at bark until she reaches the highest branch she can get to.

“Enough mingling!” she shouts, loud and commanding. The clearing immediately falls silent, clear confusion running through every cat. Harepaw feels ice run down his back, fear lifting his fur without his permission. This atmosphere was… wrong somehow. He was pretty sure Gatherings weren’t supposed to go like this.

“What are you doing?” calls Larchstar from the base of the tree. “We haven’t started the Gathering proper yet! We’ve all agreed to follow the rule of all the leaders agreeing to start before reporting!” Morningstar growls.

“I care not for rules! Snaketuft is dead! And one of you Clans is to blame!” She spits out the word Clans like it was five day old crowfood. All the cats below the angry molly gasp and immediately begin murmuring amongst themselves. Harepaw is swamped with fear scent and it’s making his head hurt.

“Tansypaw,” he says, leaning on her, “who’s Snaketuft?”

“ShadeClan’s deputy,” she replies, shouldering his light weight easily. “Or, their previous deputy, I guess.” She sounds upset. Did she know him? “He was also Morningstar’s mate.”

Hsrepaw gasps, revelation coming to him just before cats around him start raising hackles and spitting at one another, hearing accusations being thrown left and right. Harepaw makes himself small agaisnt Tansypaw, afraid. He’s almost wishing his greencough had lasted a little bit longer.

“That’s enough!” calls Rainstar, now in the tree with the rest of the leaders. “This is a Gathering! We mustn’t fight! StarClan will be enraged!” She looks up at the sky and Harepaw finds himself following, warily glancing at the clouds that threaten to cover the moon. This wasn’t looking good.

With that, most of the cats settle, though the animosity is still palpable in the air. It’s uncomfortable in a way Harepaw has never felt before.

“Now, Morningstar!” Rainstar continues, “What is the meaning of this? You start a Gathering before we’ve all agreed and then accuse us of murder? You have some nerve!” Morningstar glares down at Rainstar, tail thrashing.

“You take me for a fool, don’t you! I am no idiot! I know one of you has been sending cats to spy on me for moons now!”

“No one has accused you of being a fool, Morningstar,” Dovestar replies calmly. “But you’re being too hasty. We’re all very sorry about Snaketuft, but ShadeClan is not the only Clan losing cats. If I recall, ReedClan alone has lost three, and MallowClan has lost several as well.” Again, whispers begin to arise from the cats seated below, and Harepaw can feel the tension begin to fade a bit. He lifts back up to his full height, relieved.

“Snaketuft isn’t the only thing that’s happened!” Morningstar yowls, breaking up the commotion from the warriors. “Prey lay half eaten near the border and inside the border, and there’s no trace of who’s left it! None of my warriors can find a scent, and anycat who might’ve found something turns up dead!”

“That just sounds like none of ShadeClan’s warriors are good at finding what's right under their noses,” laughs Finpaw nearby. His ear is immediately cuffed by a nearby warrior, and he’s given a harsh look. Harepaw is glad he kept his own mouth shut, especially since he was thinking the same thing, albeit less rude.

“Prey has also been turning up like that here,” Larchstar meows, puzzled. “What about you two?” Dovestar and Rainstar nod silently. Morningstar looks down at them, scanning their faces, before calming herself down.

“Fine,” she says, hints of a growl still in her voice, “I apologize for accusing you all. But my point still stands. Someone is purposefully doing this, and we need to get to the bottom of it. Quickly. I don’t want to lose any more clanmates.” With a flick of her tail, Morningstar bounds down from her perch and walks right through the crowd. The warriors that came with her follow behind diligently. It only takes a couple of heartbeats for them to all disappear behind the bushes that surround the outside of the isle.

“Well,” Larchstar sighs, still atop the tree, “I suppose this Gathering is over, then.”


	4. Chapter 2

“Us? ShadeClan blamed  _ us? _ ” Brairclaw spits, sounding furious. “What have we ever done to them? We don’t even share borders with them!”

Dovestar had just finished telling the Clan about the Gathering, much to the despair of the cats that didn’t go. She looks tired from where she stands up on her perch.

“You’re very right,” she meows, calm and collected, “but we shouldn’t let them ruffle our fur. Morningstar is clearly grieving and we should let her do so in peace.”

“Don’t you think you’re not taking this seriously enough?” Hazelstorm calls from somewhere in the crowd. Next to Harepaw, Tansypaw turns, trying to find them. Sorrelheart narrows her eyes at wherever they must be seated, but it doesn’t seem to stop them. “Sure, Morningstar is grieving, but it takes a lot to just up and accuse every other Clan of murder and espionage! I think we should be careful about this, Dovestar. It sounds like the beginning of a war.”

Worried mumbles break out as soon as Hazelstorm finishes. Harepaw kept his mouth shut, but he couldn’t lie. From the way Morningstar had acted, war sounded like something that could really happen.

Just as he begins to flatten himself to the ground, Dovestar lets out a powerful yowl, silencing the Clan. “That’s enough speculation, everyone. Hazelstorm, I respect your worries, but I think we’ll be just fine. Really. Perish the thought of war. We are MallowClan and we will be strong yet compassionate in the face of misplaced pain and suffering.”

No cat says anything and for a couple of heartbeats, Harepaw is worried Dovestar’s words went over everyone’s heads. Then, Sorrelheart rises from beside the cliff Dovestar is on.

“Alright, alright. That’s enough sitting around like prey waiting to be captured. Everyone, off to bed. I’ll have morning patrols set as early as they normally do, so get some good rest.” She walks off as soon as she’s finished talking, and in a trickle the rest of the Clan follows her.

“Tansypaw?” Harepaw asks as the two of them get comfortable in their nests, “Do you really think there could be a war happening soon?” Tansypaw laughs.

“Of course not! Morningstar is just old and losing it. I heard from Stonenose the other day that she only has a pawful of lives left.” She flops into her mossy bed and yawns. “She’d probably be too jumpy to start any wars anyways. She wouldn’t want to lose the rest of them, after all!”

Harepaw follows Tansypaw’s lead, laying down gently in his own bed. He covers his nose with his tail and nods.

“Of course. You’re probably right. Goodnight, Tansypaw.”

“Night, Harepaw.”

The small brown apprentice closes his eyes tightly, willing himself to fall asleep quickly. He didn’t want the time to think about fighting. He was barely even an apprentice yet! Little to no training because of his greencough and with only instinctual knowledge of how to hunt… he doesn’t want to think about going up against a warrior who’d treat him like a scrap of fur.

Shaking his head, Harepaw forces himself to think about catching prey. Nice, easy mice. How great they smell as he gets ready to pounce. How juicy they taste once he sinks into them. How even their remains can be useful. Before he knows it, he’s drifting off with a craving for them.

When Harepaw starts to stir awake, he feels nothing but warmth. It makes him want to sleep in further, but he had apprentice duties to take care of. Yawning, he stretches himself out with closed eyes, ready to pad out of the apprentice den. He lets his paws lead him out, still mourning the heat he had to leave, but ends up with a face full of mossy bracken. He backs up and shakes out his pelt in confusion. Why was there a wall here?

Turning back, there’s a large cat dozing where he once was. They looked a lot like Wrentail, but that couldn’t be right. Wrentail hadn’t slept with him since he was a kit!

The cat opens one eye silently and smiles. “Harekit, get back in bed. I know you want to explore but you can do that when it’s warmer out, okay?”

Harekit? Harepaw was no kit! He hadn’t been in two moons now! Before he can even begin to make an argument, another cat slips into what must be the nursery and picks him up by the scruff. He struggles to be let go, but he’s not powerful enough. Gently, he’s placed back where he woke up, the cat who handled him purring.

“You should listen to Wrentail, Harekit. It’s dangerous out there! Wouldn’t want a fox to snatch you up, would you?” The cat snaps their teeth at him and beside himself, Harepaw scuttles back deeper into the safety of Wrentail’s belly.

“Oh, don’t bully him—” Harepaw watches as Wrentail’s words seemingly just cut off in the middle of his sentence, even as his mouth moves. “He’s your kit after all.”

Harepaw gasps. Their kit? Looking up at the larger cat, they don’t look quite right. Like they’re a silhouette, no details to be found. He can’t quite puzzle out why, but he doesn’t really care about appearances at the moment.

“Wrentail!” he mewls, voice much higher than it should be, “Who’s this?” Wrentail laughs like he’s just asked the silliest question in the world.

“He’s—”

“Harepaw!”

Harepaw nearly jumps out of his fur as he springs awake. Who in their right mind…?

“Glad to see you’re awake,” meows Willowheart from the entrance to the apprentice den, a twinge of laughter in her voice. “You have three minutes to get ready, me and Daisystripe are taking you two training.”

Training! Harepaw shakes out his pelt in excitement, getting rid of his residual tiredness. Finally, he’d be able to do some honest training!

“Be right there!” he calls, Willowheart having already left the den. He feels like a kit again, right before he got apprentenced. He didn’t really get the chance to get any training done before he got ill, so he was thrilled to be able to get some officially.

Quickly Harepaw shuffles out of his den, makes his dirt, and grabs a quick mouse to eat. By the time he’s done, Willowheart is waiting with Daisystripe and Tansypaw at the camp entrance. He hurries over, tail sticking straight up.

“I see someone’s excited,” meows Daisystripe, just as elegantly as she always does. Harepaw simply dips his head in agreement.

The cast of cats makes their way out of their home and into the forest, past the fallen birch, and into the training hollow. Once there, Willowheart and Daisystripe begin their lessons.

“Haunches down lower, Harepaw,” Willowheart instructs, “Just a bit. You’re doing great.” Harepaw glows at the complement and complies, readying himself for a capture.

“Okay you two, ready? Go!” Both Tansypaw and Harepaw leap out at two individual leaves that serve as their practice prey. Harepaw lands on his square, swiping it up in his mouth with a smile. Tansypaw is just off the mark, however, causing the leaf to float into the air.

“Fox dung!” she curses, going for an odd twist of her body to try and catch it. Still she misses, the leaf going further into the sky before being blown off completely.

“Ugh! I had that! You all saw me have that, didn’t you? I had that!” Tansypaw rages to herself, tail swiping the ground angrily.

Suddenly, from both mentors, chuckling can be heard, Harepaw turns to them, confused. They seem to be trying to be as quiet as possible.

Tansypaw finally stomps around enough to calm down. She notices the giggling almost immediately. “What?” she asks, looking embarrassed. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing!” laughs Willowheart, “It’s just that you’re a lot like Hazelstorm. They really wanted to be your mentor, you know. It just sucks that—” She’s cut off by a quick swipe from Daisystripe.

“Ow! What in the name of StarClan was that for?!” Daisystripe simply gives Willowheart a hard stare, angry. Something must dawn on Willowheart shortly after, because she immediately sits down and bows her head, licking at her chest fur.

“Right! Right. Sorry, Daisystripe. I won’t mention it again.”

“Mention what again?” asks Tansypaw, confused. “What are you two even talking about?” The two warriors look at each other, nod and drop into fighting stances.

“Doesn’t matter,” Daisystripe says, crouching lower. She sounds a lot more serious than she usually does. “All that matters right now is your training. So c’mon! Fighting stances, now!”

The two apprentices scramble to follow suit, ready for a friendly spar to learn something new. The topic of Hazelstorm is dropped altogether.

\---

“Harepaw,” meows Tansypaw around a jaw full of squirrel tail, “do you think they told us to hunt so we’d forget about what they were talking about?” Harepaw hums.

“Maybe.” He has several mouse tails in his mouth, making talking awkward. He tries to make due with the smallest amount of words possible. “Dunno. Not good to be nosy with warriors.” Tansypaw huffs, dropping her prey.

“Nosy? I don’t care about being nosy! Hazelstorm is my kin! I deserve to know what prevented them from taking me on as an apprentice!” Before he even gets a chance to reply, Tansypaw is scooping up her catch and bumbling her way to the camp, her tail swishing all the way. Harepaw rushes after her, exasperated.

When he reaches camp, Tansypaw is sticking her nose in the warrior’s den, presumably looking for Hazelstorm. She groans and leaves, padding over towards the prey pile where Harepaw is putting his catches down neatly. She flops down next to him the second she’s close enough.

“They must be out on a patrol or something,” she says, sounding dejected. “I just want to know what happened to them! What’s so bad they couldn’t menor me?”

“You kittens worry too much.” Both apprentices turn towards the elder’s den as Stonenose stretches out into the camp. They look just like they always do, wise yet playful, even at such an old age.

“What do you mean?” Tansypaw asks. “Do you know something we don’t?” Stonenose laughs, walking over to the prey pile with them.

“Of course I do, kitten. I’m nearly 60 moons, you know!” They grab Tansypaw’s catch and crouch down to eat, but not before nodding at the other two to get something to eat for themselves as well. “You want to know about dear old Hazel, don’t you?”

“Yes please!” Tansypaw says, hastily grabbing the mouse Harepaw had offered them. “Willowheart started talking about them but Daisystripe shut her down and we don’t know why. I’ve been thinking about it ever since and it’s driving me nuts!” Again, Stonenose laughs.

“You are so much like them,” they smile. 

“Willowheart said the same thing!”

“Right, right. I’m sure she did. And I’m sure with Hazel being Daisy’s kin she didn’t want any bad rumors to get back to you or them. But, I know more than rumors. I know facts. I’m sure she won’t mind too much if I tell some curious minds.” Stonenose winks at them.

Settling and taking a bite of squirrel, Stonenose chews, swallows and looks up at the sky. “Let’s see now. I know about a moon or two after you were both kitted Hazel came home with a horrible twist in their leg. They were out a good long time, couple of moons for sure. I’m surprised you kittens don’t remember it.”

“Oh!” Tansypaw perks up. “I do! Hazelstorm was going in and out of the medicine cat den for the longest, but I thought they were just helping Deerpoppy and Fernpelt. But now that you mention it, they  _ were  _ walking with a weird gait for a bit.” Stonenose nods.

“Exactly. No cat really knows what happened to them, they were surprisingly tightlipped about it. But for some reason, cats from all the clans started to go missing after that, including your father, Harepaw.” Harepaw blinks.

“What do you mean? Wrentail is right here.”

“Your  _ other  _ father, kitten.”

“I have another father?”

“That’s enough from you, Stonenose.” Both apprentices stiffen, feeling like they’ve been caught doing something they shouldn’t have. Goldencloud walks in front of them, a scornful look on her face. “I know you’re an elder, but there’s no need to gossip about your fellow clanmates.” Stonenose huffs.

“Whatever you say, Golden.” Goldencloud then turns around to the younger cats, looking softer than before.

“And you two. Don’t go poking your noses in places you shouldn’t, okay?” Harepaw wants to speak up, but can’t find it within himself to go against Goldencloud. She was always nice to him, ever since he can remember. Luckily, Tansypaw has no such hang ups.

“But Goldencloud! You’re kin! So is Hazelstorm! And now Harepaw is learning he has more kin too! Is it so rude of us to try and learn about our family?” Goldencloud looks taken aback, like she wasn’t prepared for the argument. She recovers rather quickly though, a haunted look covering her expression instead.

“Sometimes, knowing less is better.” 

“What do you mean?” Harepaw asks. Goldencloud looks away.

“Just trust me, okay? Leave this be. No cat ends up happy going down this road.” With that, Goldencloud grabs a piece of prey from the pile and walks away.

Harepaw and Tansypaw look at each other, both puzzled. When they open their mouths to try and ask Stonenose why, they’re already striding back into their den.

“Harepaw,” Tansypaw whispers, “What was that all about?”


	5. Chapter 3

_It’s wet,_ is the first thing on Harepaw’s mind when he wakes. Conscious now, the steady drip of water on his back is impossible to ignore, so he quickly lifts and shakes his pelt out.

Using his teeth, he pulls his nest to a dry spot. _There,_ he thinks, _no wet moss for me!_

Padding out into the MallowClan clearing, Harepaw sees cats sharing tongues while sheltering themselves from the light shower of the day. Tansypaw sits next to her mentor, Daisystripe, talking animatedly. Harepaw smiles, quickly dashes over to the prey pile and joins them under thick fronds of bracken.

“Hi!” he greets, placing his vole down. “I hope I’m not intruding.” Daisystripe hums.

“Depends. What would you do if I told you we were talking about you?” Confusion sets in rather quickly and Harepaw stops himself from tucking into his food. Him?

“Why? Have I done something?” Suddenly Harepaw despairs that they were talking about his lack of training. He knew Tansypaw would never on her own, but what if Daisystripe had started it and she just couldn’t keep her thoughts hidden on the matter?

The warrior purrs. “Calm down, Harepaw. I can see how anxious you are through the rain. I was just teasing you.” 

Harepaw immediately relaxes. _Thank goodness!_

“If you weren’t talking about me, what were you talking about?” Tansypaw turns to Harepaw excitedly, midchew.

“We’re gonna do a border patrol soon!” She gulps her mouse down. “And Sorrelheart is coming with us! Daisystripe was just telling me I should be extra impressive.” Tansypaw fluffs out her fur. “I plan on being the best apprentice on that patrol!” Next to her, Daisystripe laughs.

“You’ll be the only apprentice on the patrol, Tansypaw.” She turns to Harepaw. “That of course means you’ll be training all alone today, Harepaw. You think you’re ready for a one on one with Willowheart?”

Harepaw doesn’t even have to consider. He nods happily, mouth full of vole. Even if it was wet out, he wasn’t about to let a bit of dampness get in the way of his training.

“Good answer!” says Willowheart, walking up behind her apprentice. Said apprentice jumps, unprepared. His nose had been so full of rainy prey that he hadn’t noticed her approaching. Willowheart purrs.

“First thing’s first: never get so distracted you don’t scent another cat coming up behind you. I’ll be easy on you, though. The rain makes it more difficult to pick up scents.” Harepaw quickly takes a last bite of his vole and turns, dipping his head respectfully.

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” he mews after swallowing. “When will we be going out?” Willowheart grins.

“How about right now? Nothing’s keeping you, right?” Harepw matches her expression, a happy glint in his eyes.

“Right!”

Going into the wet forest was not the most pleasant feeling in the world, but it was one Harepaw was more than ready to get used to. Though, he would easily admit the feeling of soggy grass against his belly fur was extremely uncomfortable.

The two make their way to the training hollow swiftly, Harepaw only vaguely misplacing his paws a couple times. He’s more tired than usual when they arrive, panting.

“C’mon, Harepaw,” Willowheart laughs, “if a little rain slips you up just getting here, you’ll not be able to keep up today at all!” The brown apprentice huffs, catching his breath.

“I can keep up!” he declares. “What will we be doing? I doubt hunting right now would be easy.” Willowheart nods.

“That’s exactly why we’re doing that today. You’ve hunted well before in the past, but never in the rain. It’s time to up your skills.” Sheltering under the leaves newleaf provided, the warrior sits down and grooms her whiskers. “Three pieces of prey. Bring them here by sunhigh.”

Harepaw looks up at the sky. Even through the clouds he can tell the sun will reach its peak soon. He didn’t have long. Doubt pierces him. Would he actually be able to do it in time?

“Sun’s wasting, Harepaw!” calls Willowheart. “You can do it, but not if you stand around waiting!”

She was right. Harepaw shakes out his damp pelt and gets to moving. “I’ll be back soon then,” he says before plunging into the underbrush.

_Three pieces… that’s not so many,_ he thinks to himself as he moves slowly through the woods. _Surely not every piece of prey could be hiding from the rain?_

It takes a while of careful pawfalls before finally Harepaw catches the faint scent of mouse. Perfect! This would make a wonderful first catch. Though they were jumpy, they were easy to corner and easier to catch once confused.

He lets his nose guide him a bit to the left where a large oak lay, branches raking the sky. There at the base is a lone mouse, flitting to and fro, probably looking for something to eat itself.

For a moment, something akin to sympathy runs through Harepaw. He knows what it must be like to be hungry, looking for something to fill one's belly. Quickly, he shakes his head. He couldn’t think of prey like that. Not when he himself needed it to live.

Dropping into a crouch, Harepaw slinks across the ground until he’s close enough to pounce. With a quick leap and nip at the neck, the mouse is dead.

Harepaw picks his catch up and places it uncovered on the trail he took to get there. He wouldn’t want it to get muddy by burying it, after all. Then, once he was done, he’d gather everything at once and take it back to Willowheart, a prout cat.

The second piece of prey is a small, waterlogged thrush. Nothing too impressive, but prey was prey. He brings it back to the mouse and creates a small pile.

Glancing up at the sky, the sun is nearly the highest it can be. Willowheart must be expecting him to show up at any moment now. He had to hurry.

Suddenly, something darts under his paws, faster than he can see it. Following the movement, Harepaw catches a glimpse of a shrew, most likely trying to make its way home. The apprentice grins. It wouldn’t be making it there.

Without warning, Harepaw jumps and claws at the shrew. He just barely misses it, claw grazing its small body. It sprints away as Harepaw recovers, diving for it again. This time, he does catch it by the tail, but in his excitement he doesn’t pay attention to where his back paws land.

“Ow!” he yowls, left paw landing heavily on a sharp thorn. He struggles through the pain to kill the shrew and pick it up.

Great! That made three pieces. Unfortunately, with his paw thorned, there was no way he was getting back to Willowheart in time.

Shuffling to the other pieces of prey, Harepaw slowly makes his way back to the training hollow. The rain had let up by then, just a couple of drops dripping from leaves above. The second Willowheart sees him, she looks disappointed.

“Harepaw! It’s been ages! I was just about to come get you. Where have you been?” The small tom quietly limps his way to his mentor carrying the freshkill. Seeing his gait, Willowheart immediately softens.

“What happened?” she asks, concern evident in her voice. Harepaw places his catches in front of the older cat.

“When I was catching the last of the prey I may have misplaced my paws a bit…” He looks back at his injured paw, which he’s awkwardly standing on to keep his balance. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back on time.” Willowheart shakes her head.

“Nevermind that! We better get you home so Deerpoppy can look at that.” Without waiting for another word, the molly picks up the catches. “You focus on walking.”

Getting back to camp is easier said than done. Walking with what felt like three legs was much more difficult than he would’ve ever expected it to be; not that he often imagined it in the first place. He feels embarrassed as Willowheart keeps her pace slow so he can keep up.

“Off to the medicine cat den with you.” Willowheart meows once they arrive at camp. “I’m sure you’ll feel better once that’s out of your paw.”

Following her instructions, Harepaw shuffles over to where Deerpoppy and Fernpelt live. He pokes his head in sheepishly. “Deerpoppy? Are you in here?”

“Just me, just me,” says a mellow Fernpelt. “What’s the problem, Harepaw? Come in.” Harepaw walks in and sits down as best he can without lodging the thorn in any deeper.

“I got a big thorn stuck in my back paw,” he explains. “It really hurts. Do you think you can get it out?” Fernpelt smiles.

“Of course, of course. Come, give me your paw.”

Harepaw does as instructed and winces through the pain of having the thorn messed with until it can be properly tugged out. When Fernpelt does finally get it out, Harepaw lets out a small yowl, unprepared.

“There you go,” the medicine cat says, spitting the thorn out somewhere safe. “Now let me get you some dandelion leaves, that should help with the pain.” He moves towards the back of the den to where the herbs are kept, lightly swishing his tail.

As Harepaw sits, he lets his mind wander. Without really meaning to, he somehow is reminded of his dream of being a kit. _What an odd dream that was!_ he thinks. Stonenose had said something about him having another father after that, but it didn’t clear up anything. The shadowy figure he dreamed about was still just that; an empty space where a cat should be.

Wrentail never talked about this other father, so he didn’t think asking him would result in anything, but maybe…

“Hey, Fernpelt?” Harepaw called.

“Yes? Sorry for taking a minute, I’m trying to remember where I put those leaves…”

“No, it’s not about the leaves.” Harepaw assures. “It’s just that… you were there when I was kitted, right?”

“Aha!” The apprentice jumps a bit, startled. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting at all.

“I found them.” Fernpelt has a smile on his face as he returns with the leaves, placing them down in front of Harepaw. “Ah, but what was it you asked? Kitting, right?” Harepaw nods as he laps up the dandelion. “Yes, yes, I was there. Deerpoppy was the one in charge, though. I’d only recently stopped being Fernpaw, after all.” Fernpelt sits down and makes himself comfortable. “That’s besides the by, though. Why do you ask?”

Suddenly shy, Harepaw licks at his chest fur. “Uhm… no reason, really. I was just wondering, since you were there, do you know who my father is? Not Wrentail. My other father.”

It takes a moment of Fernpelt remaining silent before Harepaw looks up. While he’s still got a small smile on his face, the expression is tight.

“I think you should go get some rest.” he says instead of answering. “Stay off your paw until tomorrow, okay?” With that he stands and begins nosing at Harepaw to leave.

“Wait!” Harepaw yelps, confused. “What about my other father?” Fernpelt gives him no answers as he pushes him through the vine covered entrance of the den and turns right back around without another word.


	6. Chapter 4

“It just doesn’t make any sense, Tansypaw!” Harepaw fumes quietly. “Why won’t anycat let me know about my father?”

Though he was instructed to keep still for the day, Harepaw had snuck his way across camp and into the elder’s den to ask for more information. But some other cat must have gotten there before him, because all the elders were as tightlipped as they could possibly be. He had stormed out, forgetting about his paw. He was paying for it now, it throbbed a bit with pain.

“He couldn’t have been so awful, could he?” Tansypaw hums, looking thoughtful.

“No, I don’t think that’s the problem. He went missing, didn’t he?” Harepaw nods. “Right. So maybe everycat is just trying to spare your feelings?” She has a sympathetic look on her face. “I can’t speak for you obviously, but I think if Sandfur went missing before I knew them I wouldn’t want to know about them. It would just hurt more.”

Harepaw considers Tansypaw’s words. Maybe that _was_ what everybody was trying to do. It didn’t matter, though.

“That’s nice of them and all, but I don’t really care! I think I should be allowed to know about him if I want to!” He could tell he was getting loud, maybe a bit too loud, but he was upset. “Just like you should get to know about Hazelstorm. They’re your kin, just like my father is my kin. Just because we’re apprentices the whole Clan must think we’re dense!”

Tansypaw stands suddenly, walking over and poking at Harepaw. “C’mon,” she meows, heading deep into the back of the den, “get up. You’ll never get rest like this. And neither will I!” She beckons to the open hole in the den that let them slip out as they pleased, something she had told him about on one her many visits while he was ill.

Sighing, Harepaw gets up and pads over slowly, trying to put as little weight on his hurt paw as possible. “Where are we going?” he whispers as they crawl out of camp and into the forest. Tansypaw leads the way.

“Just out for a walk. The Clan won’t miss us for a bit while you cool off. You don’t have to be so quiet anymore either. Nothing but a couple of pieces of prey to hear you, after all.”

Huh. That was surprisingly very level headed for Tansypaw. He supposed if one of them was being rash, the other one had to pick up the slack.

“I just… I don’t know, Tansypaw. It’s just so unfair! Neither of us are being allowed to learn what we want, and why? Will it really hurt us so much? And if so, why don’t they just say as such up front?” Harepaw feels overwhelmed with emotion. “To learn I have more kin by accident just to hit walls everytime I try to learn more about him… It’s… It’s...”

“It’s aggravating.” Tansypaw supplies. The other apprentice nods his agreement. “I know, Harepaw. I tried everything after we got back from the patrol to get Daisystripe to tell me something, but everytime I mentioned it she would just clam up and tell me to practice my moves more. I couldn’t stand it! I ended up just walking off at some point, which is why I came back full of prey; as an apology.” She laughs at herself. “It was kinda stupid of me, now that I think about it! But still, I understand.”

Harepaw sighs once Tansypaw finishes talking. It was upsetting, but at least they were here in the forest, enjoying the night air. No mentors to impress and free to just exist. Maybe it was a bit naughty of them, but Harepaw had heard from Dappleface a bit ago that every cat she’d ever known had been a naughty apprentice.

“Hey,” Harepaw giggles, “I just remembered something. Did I ever tell you about what the elders told me that one time?” Tansypaw shakes her head. “Oh, it was so funny! They—”

“Kits shouldn’t be out at night.”

Immediately Harepaw stiffens, and he can see Tansypaw do the same. Smelling the air, he can’t make anything out. They must’ve been downwind.

Tansypaw whips herself around and Harepaw follows her lead, albeit with more fear than she seemed to possess. “Who’s there?!” she shouts. “We’re warriors of MallowClan! We’ll tear you apart!”

Harepaw knew she was talking out of her tail, and the thought of some big cat not taking them seriously was worrisome. Instead of a growl or anything though, he hears a deep _mrrow_ of laughter.

“Oh, I’m _so terrified_ of a couple of apprentices.” Harepaw’s breath catches in his throat. How’d they know they weren’t warriors?

Harepaw opens his mouth to oppose, but he’s suddenly swept off his feet.

“Harepaw!” Tansypaw screams from somewhere. Harepaw can’t see. All his senses are flooded with fear. A large cat is on top of him, leaving him completely prone. He’s paralyzed, unable to fight back.

“You look like someone I hate,” they say, jaws at Harepaw’s ear.

“Harepaw!” Tansypaw shouts again, this time closer. The cat’s expression changes for a moment before he kicks backwards, tossing off what must have been an attacking Tansypaw.

“Tansypaw!” Harepaw calls back, finally finding it within himself to struggle. He had to get out of here!

As soon as he started though, he stops. The cat lifts up off of him and stares at him. Harepaw jumps back and drops into a fighting stance, looking around for Tansypaw. He couldn’t take somecat like this on his own, but maybe if they worked together…

“Harepaw?” asks the rogue in front of him. “As in Harekit?” Carefully, Harepaw nods, backing up a bit more. Something flashes in the cat’s eyes, and then they’re on top of him again. But this time, instead of the threatening hold they had previously on him, they were licking at him.

“Oh, Harekit! I haven’t seen you in so long! Oh, I’m sorry, Hare _paw!_ I missed you so much!” Harepaw tries and fails to pull himself from the weird cat’s grasp. They were just too strong.

Behind them, Tansypaw was creeping up, looking ready to attack. Quickly Harepaw shakes his head, using his tail to the best of his ability to signal to Tansypaw to run away.

_Go!_ he wills. _Get out of here!_

Somehow she seems to pick up on the notion and immediately loses her stance. She looks like she’s trying to decide whether to leave or not. Harepaw pleads with his eyes for her to leave.

“My little kit! I can’t believe how much you’ve grown!” They finally let him get up and with that, he makes one last decisive flick of the tail. _Leave!_

She doesn’t need to be told again. Tansypaw nods and turns tail, getting ready to run when the cat speaks up. “Tansypaw,” they start, causing her to jump, “if you tell anycat about meeting me, I assure you nothing good will happen to you.”

Harepaw’s heart falls out of his chest as he notices their claws slip out.

“Go, Tansypaw! Don’t tell anyone!” Harepaw shouts. With that, she scrambles back off towards camp.

“Harepaw! Harepaw!” the large cat purrs, circling him. He sounded like the Clan did when he was appointed a new apprentice. The air of fear hadn’t yet left the lithe tom, who was still just as confused as he was to begin with.

“Who… who are you?” Harepaw dares to ask. The purring stops immediately, and the cat seems forlorn.

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember me!” Slowly, Harepaw shakes his head. The cat frowns.

“It’s me!” they announce, desperation in their voice. “Your father!”


End file.
